Why I Worry About War and a Lot More By J.E. Dean

I saw the elephant in the room after I watched the video of the President dropping two F-bombs and flipping a bird at a UAW worker in a Michigan Ford assembly plant. Despite the worker having heckled Trump, the President’s behavior offended me. Is the First Amendment still in effect?

The President’s behavior no longer shocks most people. Just months into the President’s second term, we are used to reporters being called pigs and dozens of perceived political enemies being called lunatics, retarded, and worse. And then there are the lies—thousands of them—things like calling Renee Good a radical leftist. 

And it appears that the more Trump normalizes rude, crude, and offensive behavior and hate speech, the more he resorts to it. What’s going on?

Hanging over the President’s head these days are the Epstein files and, more importantly, the President’s health. He is a man in decline facing the possibility of indisputable evidence being released that he was an active participant in Jeffrey Epstein’s sex crimes—why else is the President doing all he can to avoid releasing the files?

Most of us would do all we can to avoid facing the stress the President is currently under, but, then we would also not have run for the Presidency at age 78 or been Epstein’s best friend for several years. The President has made his own bed. Now he must sleep in it, (Or should I say stay up all night and post hateful messages on his Truth Social account?)

Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal reported that “Trump Presses Prosecutors to Target Foes.”  Unfortunately, some at the Department of Justice are bowing to the pressure. Thus, grand jury subpoenas are being issued to the Chairman of the Federal Reserve. Fortunately, you have other prosecutors who are saying “enough is enough” and are quitting. These prosecutors are nauseated by Trump pardoning the January 6 insurrectionists and  drug smugglers such as the former president of Honduras. They want no part in blocking the investigation and prosecution of police violence carried out by ICE, such as is the case with the agents involved in the shooting of Renee Good.

Many Americans now believe that Trump is a dictator, but others don’t seem to be able to see the oversized, smelly elephant in the room—the blond (or is it pink today?) overweight man who already has launched military actions in Venezuela, Iran, and Syria and is preparing more serious military action in Iran, a takeover of Greenland, and regime change in Cuba.  He is doing all this while at the same time effectively abandoning America’s support for Ukraine. 

I worry about war because one or more of Trump’s “actions” could be the trigger for a military strike against the United States. In the age of inexpensive drones destroying military jets costing millions of dollars, how long will it be before some country, or someone believing that “the U.S. must be stopped,” launches an attack on America? And, more importantly, how will Trump respond?

A friend recently speculated that Trump is minimally involved in most of the foreign and domestic policy of the United States. People like OMB director Russell Vought are implementing the Project 2025 playbook. Stephen Miller is directing border security. And Kevin Hassett, who could be Chairman of the Federal Reserve in a few months, is advising Trump on what to do to lower prices. 

I picture Trump, irritated by interruptions in his monitoring UFC matches, NFL football, and FIFA soccer, by aides seeking his sign-off on the next “Trump initiative.”  Trump lives in his own world and likely spends more time on envisioning monuments to himself, such as the reimagining the White House, the “Arc de Trump” outside Arlington National Cemetery, and similar projects.

In some ways, the Presidency is currently vacant. Of course it is not. There is an elephant in the room, our room, and, thus far, nobody seems to know how to end the madness. That is why I am worried about war, democracy, human rights, and the future.

I would be remiss if I did not include a word of optimism about the 2026 mid-term elections. I read the polls and the news. The sun is setting on Donald Trump. Unless he “fixes” the 2026 mid-term elections, the House of Representatives and, with luck, a Senate, will check his abuses of power next year. That is why everyone must vote and object peacefully to things the President does that hurt our democracy and violate the Constitution. 

J.E. Dean writes on politics, government, goldendoodles, and other subjects. A former counsel on Capitol Hill and public affairs consultant, Dean is an advocate for democracy, sanity, and the rule of law.